THIS IS IMPORTANT!

        A couple more things have come to my attention.  I know they've been mentioned elsewhere, but I thought I'd give it one more mention before we start A-to-Z'ing.

        Make sure that there is a link back to your blog if you follow or leave a comment.  If you just click "Follow" without leaving a comment that you've done so, I may not notice.  And I know I'm not the only one who feels this way.

       Any more, if someone new follows my blog, I usually don't click on the icon in order to follow back because most of the time there is no link.  Don't ask me why or how to fix this because I don't know.  Maybe someone reading this does know and can explain it. 

          One thing you can do when you leave a comment is leave the URL for your blog so readers can bypass your profile and go right to your blog.  One way to do this is to use a signature on your comment that includes the HTML tag form of your blog name and address.    For example, after I leave a comment I will usually will copy and then paste this signature:

Lee
Tossing It Out

         Sometimes I may change the address and blog title to reflect a particular blog post or a special message.  The bottom line is that the comment recipient or other readers can easily link to my blog page without clicking on my name and having to go through the profile. 

           Get rid of the surprise word verification if you have it.  I'm still going to sites of A to Z participants and leaving a comment only to find that CAPTCHA box pop up and pages slowly reloading and hopping around.  It really wastes time and sometimes causes lost comments.  If you haven't seen a lot of comments on your site then maybe you need to check to see how easy or difficult it is to leave a comment.
 
          Another hindrance can be some of the non-Blogger sites such as some of the Wordpress sites, other blog hosting sites, sites with Disqus or some other moderation filter, or blogs formatted in more uncommonly used ways.   I have gone to some sites where I've wasted several minutes trying to figure out how to leave a comment and evenually get frustrated and leave.  Once again, if you've been leaving lots of comments on other blogs but never seem to get any or many on your own site, then maybe you need to see if there is any problem with leaving a comment on your site.  Especially if you don't show any email it may be that no one will ever be able to contact you to let you know that there is a problem.

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       These are just a few frustrating things I encountered on Wednesday as I made a concentrated effort to see how many blogs I could get through during the day.   I thought it was worth this special post in hopes that a few of these problems might be cleaned up.

        Oh, and in case you're wondering, I don't know the exact number, but I passed the 100 mark in visiting and commenting.  It took about 6 to 7 hours to do it.  If I had a faster computer I might have doubled my visits.  It can be done, but it takes time.

        Have a happy A to Z challenge!



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My Plan of Attacking the Challenge

          Some of you have your strategies in place for the April Challenge.  That's great!   To have an organized plan of posting, visiting, and commenting should be of great help in making the Challenge less daunting and more efficiently approached.

          On the other hand, those of you who plan to just dive in and write as you go and visit blogs as whim takes you will undoubtedly have fun and find the Challenge full of surprises.  There's nothing wrong with that approach either.

           It comes down to what kind of adventurer you are.  Perhaps you study the maps so you'll have a good idea where you are going and you pack your supplies so you'll be ready for just about anything you may encounter.  Or maybe you just traipse into the wilderness, machete in hand, hacking your way through the undergrowth and surviving off the land and from what the inhabitants in the unknown territories have to offer you.   Be assured that in this Challenge the natives are friendly and the adventures are many.

 My Challenge Strategy

         I have formulated a plan for April.  I won't be held to this plan--we all know about how the best laid plans can go.   From my experience with last year's Challenge and with other blog events I think I've learned a few things about approaching something like this.  But of course I've never participated in a blog event as massive as this year's A to Z Challenge.  Any of my plans are subject to change.

   Here are my visiting "rules" for this year:

1.)      I will probably only respond to comments that call for a response. Otherwise I will leave blanket thank you notes for all the "nice post" and other complimentary comments.

2.)      I am going to try to visit all who leave comments on my blog and if there are too many then I will limit my visits to blogs that I am less familiar with or who have left me an especially impressive comment that has drawn me to them.

3.)        I am going to use the Navigation buttons that Marcus at Writing Investigated created.   At the top of my sidebar you will notice the "Next Blog" and "Surprise Me" buttons.  I am finding these to work quite well so far.  To read more about this follow the link below the buttons.  I will try to visit at least 10 to 40 sites per day with this button system.

4. )       I may also check out posts that appear on my sidebar or my Google Dashboard that sound especially interesting whenever I have time.


5.)     I'm going to attempt to visit 40 to 100 blogs per day.

      Here is my plan for posting:

1.)       I am trying to preschedule as many posts as I can before this Friday April 1st.

2.)       My theme will be "Alliterative Daily Doubles" with each day's post based on paired words beginning with the letter of the day.  For example, Friday's post is going to be "Ambitious April" in honor of the kick-off day. 
3.)       The subject matter and style of the posts will be random and varied.

4.)        I currently do not plan to do any motivational posts regarding the Challenge.  This could change just as it did last year when I revised some of my topics in order to cheer on Challenge participants.

A Few Closing Thoughts

           Don't forget-- the Challenge is yours.   You have your reasons for doing this, so I encourage you to stay true to yourself and what you hope to achieve.  At the same time don't forget to be courteous to your fellow bloggers.  Try to be fair in your visitation and comments.    And if you believe in the creed of following other blogs and wanting them to follow yours--do so.  Just remember that not all blog owners care about the follow, so respect that.  Be in this for you and for others as well.  We all want this Challenge to be a rewarding experience.

             Finally, I am going to give a plug for a blogger on the list who has a special circumstance.  The Saga of the Concrete Jungle is #525 on the Linky list.  Dan, the owner of this blog, is a prisoner who does not have access to a computer.  He has sent all of his posts for April to his sister, who regularly posts for him.  My understanding is that his posts for the Challenge will be a serialized story themed in accordance with the alphabet challenge.  Dan is unable to respond immediately to comments on his blog due to his circumstance, but he eventually does respond.   If you visit him and leave a comment, be sure to subscribe to the comments so you can see his responses down the road.   And realize that as much as he'd like to visit all of your blogs, this is not possible.    So if you're willing, check out his first couple of posts and see if it's something you'll want to stick with till the end.

              In parting, I wish all of you the best blogging event you've ever had as you head into the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge of 2011.   Let me or any of the other co-hosts know if you have any comments, questions, or problems concerning the Challenge and we'll do our best to address them.  Now let the fun begin!

          Have you devised a Challenge strategy for yourself?   
 
 
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The Final Countdown

         This is it folks!  This is the week that the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2011 begins.  This past weekend I've watched as sign-ups for the Challenge surge toward the 700 mark.  Does anyone want to give us an 800?  Do I hear 1000?  You know at this point at the rate we're going it's very possible.

          There have been some great posts with tips on how best to approach the Challenge and ideas on how to make the experience easiest for all of us.  Please consider some of these great suggestions that others are making, and if you're doing something that you haven't seen anyone else mention please let the rest of us know.  Watch the blogs of all of my co-hosts this week for any other last minute ideas or words of encouragement.

          Soon we'll see who has what it takes to finish the Challenge honorably.  From last year's experience I think it will be most of you. 

          Some of the blogs signed up may have no intent in participating or will have decided to drop out for some reason--this is the nature of any blog event on this scale.  If you happen to run across a blog that is not actually participating in the Challenge or is only added to the list for show, please let me know so I can contact that blogger first to see what's happening, and if necessary drop them from the list.  We don't want any of us to be wasting our time clicking on blogs that have misrepresented themselves as part of the Challenge--I hope there are none like that.

           Also, let me remind you to follow blogs that you are not yet following.  No blog should end this Challenge without having at least 100 followers.   For those of us who already have a large number of followers this may not be such a major thing, but to those new blogs with only 5, 10,  or 25 followers, to reach 100 would be major for them.  Remember when you were just starting out?  Believe me, I will never forget.      

            Some of you have sent me some great ideas on how to make the Challenge better.  I truly appreciate these innovative ideas and I hope you will keep them coming.   For most of these suggestions it is too late to act upon them, but I will be definitely keeping some of these in mind for next year.

             Whoa!  Did I say next year?  Have I gone mad?  From the looks of things this year, the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge of 2012 will be massive with more improvements to make it even better.  But first things first--this Friday is April 1 with 25 more days of blogging to follow.  Have fun!

            Are you ready for the start of the Challenge?   Do you have any ideas that might make the Challenge easier for others?   Do you have any plans to post anything special this week about the Challenge?

Nicki Elson scored another online news article.   This one surprised me as it popped up on my "Google Alerts".  Thank you Nicki.   Check out the link.



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